


From Darkness Comes Light

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angry Sex, Angst and Romance, Biting, Blood, Blow Jobs, Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Choking, Dom/sub Undertones, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Kiss, Mutant Reader, Oral Sex, Psychological Torture, Rough Sex, Torture, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2019-10-04 17:36:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17308931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: Almost every creature in the universe is afraid of the dark. It’s not that they feel alone, rather that they fear the opposite. Myths tell of those that can command the shadows, that walk through the dark instead of the light. Unpredictable. Dangerous. They live solitary lives, consumed by the darkness that they wield, heartless monsters hell bent on destroying the world of the light.Loki always believed these tales to be nothing more than fanciful stories designed to scare children at night. That all changes when one evening he meets such a person lurking in his room and strikes an unexpected friendship with the shadow walker. As they grow closer, he begins to wonder if the tales were wrong after all and there is more to you than just the dangerous killer that the rest of the universe sees.Will love shine a light through the darkness or are some shadows too hard to shake?





	1. Chapter 1

“Who’s there?”

You froze, holding your breath in the hope that he would dismiss your presence as a figment of his imagination. Most did; after all, it was easier for them to foolishly ignore the truth than accept that they may not be alone in the dark. It made your job all the easier when they blamed their own, overactive minds and gave themselves willingly to the shadows.

Unfortunately for you, he seemed to be one of stronger will and refused to ignore you. Considering that he was in your element and not his, he was disconcertingly calm. “I know you’re there. Show yourself.”

He sat up too quickly. Threw his quilt aside and crawled to the edge of his bed, stalking towards you like an animal ready to pounce on its prey. His emerald eyes shone through the shadows, shimmering brightly with the impossible magic that ran through his veins. A threat, intended or otherwise, warning you what you were up against.

In defence you stretched your arm out in front of you, commanding the darkness with ease. You gave it weight, a physicality strong enough to press against his chest and stop him from edging closer. All it took was a gentle push to shove him away, the force of your actions magnified tenfold by the shadows.

You felt him move against the shadows before you saw the movement. The air grew warm as he drew on his magic, summoning a dagger from the void. Stupidly believing himself to be faster than you, faster than darkness itself, the man flung his weapon in your general direction but missed by a wide enough margin for you not to consider him a major threat.

Narrowing your eyes, you twisted the shadows around his wrists, binding him to the nearest bed post. Too late did he realise that you were forcing the darkness down his throat to shut his mouth. It cut off his screams for assistance, coated his throat like acid until he could speak no more, leaving an eerie silence hanging over the room.

A cold weight settled in your core as you continued to manipulate the night’s blackness to keep him trapped. He fought your powers like a rabid animal, thrashing his limbs against your tight hold. It was a pointless exercise - little could break shackles of pure darkness - but the longer you had to maintain the bonds the harder it became for you to maintain your focus.

You grabbed his dagger from the ground and pressed the sharp tip against his chest, piercing his skin and sliding it between his ribs so that it just touched his heart. He certainly stopped struggling them but defiance still shone brightly in his eyes. “Make a sound and I will not hesitate to kill you. Do you understand?”

Stupidly, arrogantly, you hadn’t considered his silence as anything more than a futile attempt at resistance. You hadn’t imagined that he would be idiotic enough to risk his life to retaliate somehow. Who in their right mind would be prepared to die just to make a point?

The green flash was blinding. You dropped the dagger and covered your eyes, frantically scrambling backwards into the fleeting shadows. The light burned your skin and you had no choice but to release your form of darkness and revert back to your physical body. It meant the bonds that held the man in place would fall away but there was no other choice if you wished to survive burning in the light - and you most certainly did.

Eyes blurry and disorientated, you put up no struggle when he grabbed you by the throat and pinned you against the wall. You’d been in this life long enough to know when not to fight. Two men stood before you, or perhaps it was the same man, you couldn’t tell. They/he kept you trapped, prepared for an attack that would never come. You almost laughed when you felt the cold blade pressed against your chest.

“Who sent you, shadow walker?”

“No one,” you croaked. The pressure of his hand around your windpipe made it difficult to say anything more. The shining green figure stood stoutly behind him, decked in curious armour, his light bright enough to make you reconsider any attempt to draw on your powers to escape. Your ego wasn’t so fragile to risk the danger of facing magic so strong in this state.

“I advise you not to lie to me, girl.”

Refusing to dignify that with a response, you looked over the man’s shoulder and frowned at what you saw. Trapped between the worlds of light and dark, your eyes couldn’t adjust fully either way, and it was difficult to make out too many details but this was definitely not a New York office. “Where am I?”

“Your games do not amuse me.”

“No games,” you insisted. The pounding on the inside of your skull was verging into unbearable as you struggled for air. Your vision once again began to blur, a darkness you could not manipulate filling your sights. Allowing your body to go limp in the hope that it would make it easier to breathe - it did not - you asked, “Where is this place?”

The pressure on your neck lessened ever so slightly, the cool night air to rushing into your lungs. His grip still tight enough to hold you a good few inches above the ground, ready to crush your windpipe in a moment’s notice, he said slowly, “You are on Asgard.”

“Not Earth? Are you sure?”

“I am quite certain this is not Midgard,” the man replied. Where before his gaze had held nothing but contempt, and perhaps even flat out boredom at a moonlight assassination attempt, he now regarded you with far more interest.

“In that case, I mean you no harm.”

A harsh laugh escaped his lips, echoed by the illusion behind him - you were certain it was an illusion born of the same magic that flowed within his veins now, and not a ghostly twin. He leant forward, his face hovering mere inches over yours. “Need I remind you that you attacked me first.”

“That was defence. You startled me and then threw a dagger at me. My reaction was perfectly natural. If this is not Earth - Midgard - then I mean you no harm.”

“Forgive me if I find that difficult to believe. Shadow walkers have quite the reputation, even here on Asgard.” Despite his words, you felt the change in his attitude in the way his fingers pressed against your skin. His touch was lighter and, after a few seconds of deliberation, he even stepped away and released you from his grip. Leaning against the bedpost to which you had tied him, the man crossed his arms over his chest and asked, “What am I to call you then?”

“If it’s all the same with you, I’d rather just be leaving and put this misunderstanding behind us.”

“You needn’t leave so soon. Never has anyone spoken to a shadow walker and survived to live the tale.”

Even in your physical form, your powers were strong enough bend the darkness around you. You pressed it against his chest, cutting off his supply of oxygen and catching him so much by surprise that his illusion faltered. As the green light dimmed, you felt your strength return enough to summon a blade of darkness. Holding it against his throat, you hissed, “You will speak of this to no-one.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” he said, smirking as if this were actually fun for him. Fighting the push of the shadows, sweat trickling down his cheek from the effort, he stretched out his hand and introduced himself. “You have the word of Loki, prince of Asgard.”

Refusing to take his hand, you said, “I’m no fool; I would never accept the word of a trickster.”

His smirk grew impossibly wide at your words. It would be quite irritating if it didn’t suit him so well, but you were quick to push that thought aside. Leaning forward as much as he dare with the blade still pressed against his throat, Loki asked, “You know who I am?”

“Shadow walkers are not the only ones with a reputation.”

“Tell me your name.”

“Release your illusion and I may consider it.”

Loki’s grin dimmed ever so slightly; if you weren’t so intune with the shadows, you would have dismissed it as nothing more than a trick of the light. He wasn’t stupid (no matter what his earlier actions had suggested) and understood the moment the room returned to darkness that you would slip into the night and disappear. But, with few other options open to him, the prince did as you asked.

You immediately released your physical form and returned to one of shadows, sinking into the blackness around you. Relief flooded your mind as you connected once again to the dark world. Your thoughts became clearer and you felt whole, your soul set free from the limited confines of your mortal body.

Pulling away from Loki, the blade of darkness lost its tangibility and you prepared to make your escape before you made any more mistakes. Something stopped you at the last moment, though. While he was aimlessly searching the night for any sign of you, unable to distinguish one shadow from another, you could see his features perfectly. His smirk had fallen away completely and that cockiness, that willingness to look death in the eye and grin, had been replaced with something harder. Sadder.

Against your better judgement, you stayed put. Hiding in the shadows, allowing them to take you completely until you existed without form or substance, you silently watched the prince as the cold grip of loneliness took ahold of his heart. His shoulders drooped as he sat on the edge of his bed, toying with the dagger in his hand, not even flinching when he drew blood.

“You should be more careful,” you said, commanding the shadows to solidify and give you form once more. Crouching down in front of the prince, you ran your fingers over the shallow cut on his palm. Before your eyes, Loki’s flesh began pulling itself together, a gentle green shimmer running beneath his skin as his magic healed the wound. More to yourself than him, you mumbled, “Impressive.”

“That’s nothing,” he grumbled, pulling his hand free from your grip. “What are you still doing here? I thought you had left already.”

“I was thinking.”

“I didn’t know shadow walkers were capable of that.”

You narrowed your eyes at the comment despite knowing he would be unable to see the action. Rocking on your heels, you watched Loki carefully, trying to work out whether he was baiting you or not. Deciding on the latter, blaming some strange defense mechanism for his affrontive behaviour, you pushed yourself up and sat by his side. Staring into the darkness, which to you was far more than sheer black, you said, “I was meant to kill someone tonight.”

“The Midgardian?”

“Yeah.”

“You sound… Uncertain. You worry you will be unable to complete the task?”

“Oh, no. Killing him would be easy. I’ve taken out far more powerful foes than him.”

Loki turned to face you, still struggling to make out more than your outline in the shadows. Part of that was the fault of his biology; he was simply not designed to see clearly in such darkness. It was partly your own doing, though. You wove the shadows around you like a wall, an impenetrable barrier to keep him from looking too closely at this form. Those who stared too deeply often succumbed to madness and, for some reason, you didn’t wish that fate to befall the prince.

His forehead crumpled in confusion as he asked, “Then why your uncertainty? Surely you can’t have developed a conscience in the space of an hour.”

“Oh, I have a conscience. I just ignore it,” you said seriously, taking Loki by surprise. “Anyway, I really ought to be going. There’s only another hour of darkness before the sun rises in New York and I must be getting on with my business.”

“You can jump between the realms at whim? Return just like that?”

That was certainly the question on your mind, too. Bluffing a confidence you were relieved he believed, you grinned, “Apparently so. You don’t believe that I came here by choice, do you? God, no. A happy accident, I assure you. Rest well, Loki, prince of Asgard.”

“Wait!” he exclaimed, grabbing your wrist. He immediately recoiled, the chill of your shadowy form catching him off guard. “You still haven’t told me your name.”

Amused by his persistence, you said, “Y/N. My name is Y/N. Keep it to yourself or you may find that the night is not so kind to those who reside in the light.”

Not bothering to wait for his reply, you released your breath and allowed the shadows to take you, welcoming you back with a familiar cold embrace as you set off to complete your original job for the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought :D


	2. Chapter 2

Loki had never been one to fear the shadows. After all, when one spends their days hiding in the darkness they become quite immune to its effects. Where others may fear it, may jump at the movement in the corner of their eye, Loki found peace in the solitude and stability in the knowledge that he was, indeed, alone.

However, those deep truths had been shaken when you’d revealed yourself to him.

Before, Loki had felt at home in the cold blackness. He had believed - naively, perhaps - that he was free to move through the void without fear of crossing paths with another. Now, he couldn’t be certain that it was just him lurking in the night. The silence was no longer calming; it was merely the sign of hidden enemies holding a breath, waiting for him to lower his guard and attack.

You may not have meant him harm - at least, that was what you’d said; the more the prince thought back to the encounter, the more he began to wonder what your real intentions were - but that didn’t mean others would be so forgiving if he allowed himself to be caught off guard once again. Unfortunately, instead of simply remaining vigilant, Loki went straight past staying casually aware of threats and only stopped when he reached complete paranoia.

He wasn’t sleeping, save for a few odd minutes during the day when there were no shadows in which alien assassins could hide. The prince doubled the usual guard posted by his door at night and ensured that there were at least twenty-seven candles burning so that there wasn’t an inch of his chambers not bathed in light.

When his mother questioned his erratic behaviour, he simply waved it away as nothing. Frigga was far too intelligent to believe him but didn’t want to push her son any further for fear that he may succumb to madness. A preposterous concern, Loki thought, but he did rest better during the dim evenings when he could no longer force his eyes to stay open knowing that she was nearby keeping an eye on him.

Days turned into weeks, which stretched into months, until Loki was finally able to admit that he was overreacting. There wasn’t anyone creeping around in the darkness, except for himself. Shadow assassins were nothing more than myths, designed to scare children, and no one was conspiring against him. Loki laughed off the concerns of those around him, those few who cared so much and had seen just how terrified the prince had truly been.

Eventually, Loki fell back into his normal routine. The people of the palace were almost relieved to be the recipients of the prince’s mischief for it proved that he truly was fine. His odd behaviour from the last few months could be written off as a blip, an overreaction to an imagined threat. His way of dealing with a frightening encounter that most assumed had been nothing more than a nightmare - after all, everyone knew how he was prone to those.

It was an evening like any other that Loki felt the shift in the air. The prince had been busying himself with transcripts from today’s Council meeting - records he technically shouldn’t be privy to but he would return them before anyone realised they were missing - when, in the corner of his room, he saw the shadows rippling in a way that was far from natural.

Loki fought to slow his beating heart, forced his emotions down and demanded a level head of himself. A calm focus slowly fell over his mind, his fears dwindling away to nothing more than background noise. He plastered a sharp grin on his face, the kind that might send even Nidhug - the dragon living in Hel, who fed on the corpses of the dead - running scared. “You returned.”

“I assure you, it was through no choice of mine. Has it always been so bright in here?”

“A precaution in case you - or one of your kind - should ever return,” Loki said, grateful for the fact that he hadn’t yet bothered to blow out the final few candles. The light they provided was dim, barely enough to illuminate the papers in his hand, but the gentle golden glow they cast over the room kept his panic from spiking.

He’d read every book that the royal library had about shadow walkers. So long as the candles kept burning, you were trapped on the far side of the room, away from the light, and he was safe. You couldn’t hurt him so long as he stayed out of the shadows.

That knowledge, though, was doing little to quiet the voice in the back of his head which demanded he went closer to get a better look at you. After all, the last time you’d been here, he’d been a little too distracted trying not to get himself killed to take a real look. But now… Now Loki wanted nothing more than to learn everything he could about you, regardless of the consequences.

“I told you before that I mean you no harm, Loki. Come any closer, though, and I may have to reconsider my position on that.”

The prince held back, although the urge to chance his hand and ignore your warning still burned strongly in his gut. Perched on the edge of his enormous bed, Loki narrowed his eyes and tried to discern your figure from the surrounding shadows. It was, expectedly, a near impossible task. Shadow walkers would not have made such effective assassins if everyone could pick them out against the night.

The shadows shifted and Loki was almost able to pick out your sillhoute in the darkness. Or perhaps it was just a trick of his mind; filling in what he expected to see.

What was not a hallucination was the sudden pitch black which swallowed the room. Without so much as a light gust of wind, the candles went out simultaneously. The air remained warm but Loki could feel the chill as you slowly circled his bed. “It’s rude to stare, you know.”

His earlier cockiness dried up in an instant as he realised how big a mistake he had made to assume the upper hand. Sincerely hoping that it was enough to stop you from punishing his ignorance, Loki breathed, “Please accept my apologies. I meant you no offence.”

Your shadowed figure came to a halt, resting against the wall in far too casual a stance. Paradoxically, it was easier for Loki to discern your shape in the pure darkness of the night than when aided by candle light. As far as he could tell, you looked like any other mortal being, give or take a few extra feet in height and thick muscle that he was suddenly less than keen to go up against.

He lifted his gaze upwards and nearly fell off his bed in surprise. In the shadows, wisps of the deepest reds and purples highlighted the features of your face. Your lips were drawn back into a thin, wicked smile, revealing what Loki assumed were teeth - although they were far more like the sharp fangs of a demon than those of an Asgardian. He was without doubt that you could easily tear the throat of a man or beast.

But it was your eyes that caught him most off guard. Where the rest of your body radiated danger, your eyes held none of that. Your gaze was almost tangible, warm on his flesh, intense yet kind. If he didn’t know better, he’d say that you were amused by the entire situation. You regarded him with an intellectual curiosity but also something far softer which he couldn’t name. Certainly not what he’d imagined possible of a shadow walker; infinitely more complex than he’d assumed a mercenary could be.

“You are one of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen,” Loki murmured, almost unaware that he was speaking his thoughts outloud until it was too late. Grateful that the darkness hid the blush on his cheeks, the prince leant forward and asked, “How is it that I can see your form? Last time, I could not.”

“Because I am allowing it, of course.”

“But why?”

“Those who dwell in the light prefer to have substance upon which to gaze. My experience shows that they find it difficult to converse with the bodiless expanse of the night. So, I have created a form which you might find pleasing.”

For some reason, that bothered Loki. He wasn’t entirely certain why but he couldn’t find comfort in the fact this body of shadows had been created specifically with him in mind. Perhaps he feared what was truly lurking beneath the surface. “This is not your true appearance, then?”

“It is as much my true face as that is yours.”

“What do you mean by that?” Loki asked, frowning so hard that his face hurt. Speaking to you was like talking in riddles. Usually it was him weaving the lies and deceptions. He was not too much enjoying being on the other side, out of the loop and in the dark - so to speak.

“Nothing. Forget I mentioned it.”

“Why have you returned? You said it was not of your own desire so what led you back to Asgard?”

“It’s quite the long tale.”

“I have nowhere else to be.”

You laughed at his persistence and Loki was certain that your eyes lightened, turning a brighter shade of purple. It was a wonderful sound, pure and without the malice with which others so often held towards the prince. You weren’t trying to belittle him or drag him down and for once he didn’t feel like the butt of a joke.

The shadows shifted as you crossed the space, the mattress dipped beneath your weight. “I shall keep it short for you, nonetheless, and save you of the boring details. The short of it is this: It appears that, in my attempts to use the shadows as a gateway between locations, I have become entangled with a passage between Earth and Asgard.”

“How is that even possible?”

“I wouldn’t know,” you shrugged. “Records of my people have shown that it is possible to use the dark energy network across the universe as a kind of transportation link to take us from one location to another. Obviously at some point in past billion years the tendrils of this network became crossed with one of the paths between your realms and now I too am linked to it. Each time I attempt to use the network, I am transported here first as a sort of midpoint.”

“These pathways between here and Midgard of which you speak, perhaps you could show them to me. I may be able to study them and improve your understanding.”

Your eyes flickered red, although whether it was with anger or amusement Loki was uncertain. “I am perfectly capable of studying them on my own, thank you. And I cannot shake the feeling that providing you easy access around your nine realms would be a foolish thing indeed.”

Loki smirked at that, reminded once again that shadow walkers - or rather, you in particular - were not as dense as the old tales told. Something about your explanation felt… off, though. It took him a few moments to pinpoint exactly what but if nothing else Loki was an expert at weaving half truths so always spotted them in the end.

However, this time, when he realised the truth, it didn’t fill him with pride in his own abilities. Instead, he felt something quite unexpected: Sympathy.

Very slowly so not as to scare you into a violent response, Loki reached out and touched your shoulder. It was an awkward gesture and you immediately recoiled from his hand but he persisted anyway. “These records of which you speak… There are no others of your kind to help you understand them, are there? You are the last shadow walker.”

“You think you’re clever, don’t you?”

“Well, I am.”

The sharp edge of a blade against his throat deterred Loki from making any further sharp quips. He hadn’t meant to upset you with his observation, although that had clearly been the outcome. Swallowing deeply, unnerved by the cold shadows pressing against his neck, he breathed, “I’m sorry. It cannot be easy to face this existence alone.”

You pulled back but the weapon of darkness still shone in the moonlight, reminding him of his place. This may have been his world but you would always have the upper hand. Against all sanity, that thought actually thrilled the prince. There truly was something intoxicating about living on the edge, putting his very life at risk just to get to know you a little better.

“Have you ever known another of your kind?” Loki asked softly.

“I have been alone for so long that I cannot remember otherwise.”

Unable to dampen his curiosity, this being too good an opportunity to expand his knowledge of the universe and the creatures of so-called myth within it, Loki began to bombard you with questions. “How long have you been on Midgard? If you are only now discovering the benefits of travelling via the dark energy network, how did you get around before?”

“I can travel unseen within the shadow of another. It was easy to board ships to take me elsewhere in the galaxy without anyone noticing my presence. As to how I ended up stuck here, I heard tales of a planet named Teran and decided to visit. That was before I realise how depressingly dull a place it is. Humans have yet to perfect their interstellar travel and have an annoying habit of shooting down any visitors to their planet so I have been stuck there for a while. I stopped counting a few decades ago.”

Loki nodded, urging you to continue. You told him of how, before, some clients would provide you with portals or entry points for easy access to a target. It was fascinating. He could have listened to you talk all night but he was aware of how the sun would soon be rising and there were other questions he wished answered more.

“When was the last time you saw someone who was not Midgardian?”

“Last week,” you said, the outline of your silhouette rippling. You were getting restless, he suspected. You hadn’t moved from the edge of his mattress in hours and you held yourself so tightly that it had to hurt. Assuming a body composed of literal darkness was in anyway similar to that of flesh. Either way, you couldn’t have been comfortable holding a physical presence for this long. “I killed him.”

“Charming. What about before that?”

“The month before. Killed him too. It is my job, after all. Just because I am confined to Earth does not mean that I am slow in bounties. There are many non-terrestrial entities residing all across Earth and not because that miserable rock is a great tourist spot. They come to hide. I find them and fulfill my contract every time.”

The ease with which you spoke about dolling out death should have bothered Loki but it didn’t. It was, after all, the natural order of things for weaker creatures to fall at the hands of those above them in the food chain. The strong eliminated the weak. It was in their nature to be ruthless and cold.

All the evidence pointed to you being near the top of that ladder, which made it all the more curious why you hadn’t stuck out against him. Dragons did not make friends with their dinner. You could take him out with ease and yet you hung around simply talking like old friends. What game were you playing?

Watching your face carefully, searching for the slightest hint of a change in your already difficult to read expression, Loki asked, “Why are you here?”

“I told you the truth, Loki.”

“If there was a contract out for my head, you would tell me?”

“Sure. There are currently seven that I know of. No one would dare accept the challenge, though. Asgard is too well protected to take the risk.”

Unless you could enter undetected and move through the shadows like a ghost. That would eliminate quite a substantial amount of risk, Loki thought, subconsciously leaning away from you.

“I am bound by my word, Loki,” you said. Your voice was flat, almost bored of this conversation. Beneath that, though, there was a flicker of hurt. After everything you’d shared with him tonight, Loki still didn’t fully trust you. It was the curse of your existence, forever the monster in the dark. “I swear, I am not here to collect on a contract. Your head will stay firmly attached to your body and your organs un-impaled while I am around.”

While he was glad for your reassurances, Loki refused to relent. “You didn’t answer my question. Why are you here?”

“Perhaps I enjoy your company.”

“This is only our second meeting. You do not know me.”

“And if I wanted to?” Your purple eyes softened in the shadows and Loki realised for the first time that you had banished your blade, leaving unarmed and vulnerable as you bared your soul. “You weren’t wrong. It is a lonely life I lead and it is not often I come across someone as interesting as you. Forgive me for assuming that you could desire a friendship with someone like me.”

As you rose to leave, Loki instinctively reached out to grab your hand. He half expected his fingers to pass right through the shadows - for you and this entire evening to have been nothing more than a dream conjured by his restless mind. However, he felt your hand real as anything against him, your fingers warmer than he’d anticipated as he linked them together and pulled you back.

“I would very much like it if you were to return.”

“Then I shall,” you said, turning away but not quite fast enough to hide the small smile on your face. “Good night, Loki.”

With that, you released your physical form. It was like sand slipping through Loki’s fingers and no matter how he tried he could not keep it from falling. He had trouble sleeping that night - or at least what little was left of it - the shadows eerily quiet without you there.


	3. Chapter 3

Silence was a constant companion between you and Loki. You both preferred to speak only when there was something worth saying. As such, your visits to Asgard were often fairly brief - sitting silently in the dark with another person was not what you’d call entirely comfortable, even for one of the night such as you.

Sometimes, though, you would venture out into the palace grounds, as you had today.

The palace gardens were beautiful and offered a welcome distraction from the many problems which weighed heavy on your mind. Conversation usually flowed more easily between you as you walked - perhaps it was the sweet scent of the roses which prompted a more honest conversation, or maybe the constant movement helped you to believe you could escape the dark truths you often found yourself sharing - but tonight was different.

You were following your usual route through the gardens, each lost in your own thoughts, when you turned suddenly down a different path, drawn inexplicably in that direction. You could hear a call in the shadows, a beautiful, eerie melody that captured your heart. Your mind was weary but your body easily swayed and you were unable to ignore the pull. The further down the path you tread, moving away from the lights within the palace and venturing into a space of pure darkness, the less concerned you became. There was nothing to fear here.

“Must we go this way?” Loki asked, the gentle glow of the palace lights highlighting the striking lines on his face. His shifted his weight between his feet and wrung his hands together anxious. “There is an equally accessible path the way we came.”

“Is the darling prince scared of the dark?”

He narrowed his eyes and dropped his hands to his side. You caught the slight shine of a dagger in his hand, although you had no concerns that Loki might use it against you. You’d come to learn that the reflex to arm himself was intended more for his comfort than as a threat. It didn’t bother you - in fact, you understood the reasoning a little too well - so you said nothing. After all, who were you to stop a man from taking relief in being armed?

“I can offer you a hand to hold if it makes you feel better.”

Loki scoffed at your insincerity and strode into the night, passing you and continuing down the path without further pause. His courage was admirable, even if it came from a place of spite. You teased the prince more often than not but never truly questioned his bravery. Your jests were nothing more than that, jokes designed to rile him up and push his buttons for no reason other than to see how he would respond.

You could have easily caught up with Loki on foot but opted to travel through the shadows, savouring the brief moments of freedom as you moved formless through the night. You weaved your body of darkness back into existence a few steps ahead of the prince, grinning at his paled expression before leading the way.

When you finally reached your destination, you immediately laid down on the ground and stared up at the night sky. You patted the ground when Loki made no movement to join you, reminding him that when he was with you he was not a pampered prince of Asgard. Eventually he unfolded his arms and sat beside you on the ground, grumbling under his breath the entire time.

“You should lay down. You’ll get a better view. It really is magnificent tonight.”

Loki tilted his head upwards and frowned. “All I can see are the same old, cold stars. The view will remain the same no matter how I sit.”

“Must you be so stubborn? Please, indulge me.”

Giving in, Loki sighed and stretched out on the soft ground beside you. Less than 30 seconds passed before the prince’s willingness to indulge you faded. “Are we done with this pointless exercise yet? I told you that the view would be the same and it is.”

“You aren’t looking in the right places.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me show you.”

He hesitated for a moment before nodding sharply. “Alright.”

You gave him no time to change his mind and reached out to grab his wrist. Loki inhaled sharply, his pulse racing beneath your fingers. You didn’t want to hurt him but couldn’t risk him breaking the connection you had forged. You held him still until the process was complete then released him immediately, a terrible fear settling on your chest when he went deadly still.

The seconds stretched to what felt like infinity before he shot up right, eyes wide and chest heaving. Shadows pulsed through his veins, dark purple lines appearing on his pale flesh as they spread through his body. At the sight, Loki’s panic spiked. He frantically clawed at the marks beneath his skin, meeting your gaze with nothing but fear. “What did you do to me?”

“Loki, breathe,” you grabbed his hands and held them still. He flinched at your touch but the sudden chill of your shadowy form snapped him out of his spiral. “Loki, look at me. It’s going to be okay. You just have to stop resisting.”

His eyes focused on your face, the beautiful green you’d come to know slowly changing to purple as he stopped fighting the shadows. Convinced that he was no longer a danger to himself, you released your hold on his hands. “It’s alright. It’s done.”

“What did you do?” he asked stiffly.

“I opened your mind. Look at the sky.” He opened his mouth to argue but you shook your head. The purple shimmer in his eyes was already beginning to fade; the weak shadows you’d shared were no match for the intense light of the magic which also flowed through his veins. You touched his cheek and said softly, “No, we can argue about this later. Please, just look at the sky before the effects fade.”

Loki was reluctant to comply but curiosity eventually beat out his stubborn streak, as you knew it would. His mouth fell open at what he saw. “What… I don’t understand. It’s… What am I seeing?”

You smiled and let your head fall backwards, taking in the beauty above you.

The sky was alight with shining strings of dark energy, the network that connected the universe together, pulsing gently as nearby suns burned and galaxies twirled. The strands were constantly moving, ablaze with colours that were beyond description. They were alive, dancing across the night sky, twisting and turning and forever changing. Like blood pumping through veins, these were the hidden forces which gave life to all in existence.

Billions of light years away, you could feel the pull of hungry black holes. Their sorrowful songs resonated through the shadows, bringing tears to your eyes. The final sigh of distant civilisations as their atoms were reclaimed by the darkness, bringing them back into the folds of a network which was beyond mortal comprehension.

“You see this all the time?”

You’d almost forgotten that Loki was there with you, too lost in the wonder of the universe. His eyes were almost completely back to green now and a brief touch of his hand confirmed that the shadows had indeed left his system. However, even without your powers flowing through his veins, you still felt connected to the prince in a way you hadn’t before.

With a shrug, you answered, “Not during the day.”

Loki frowned. “You can go out in the daylight? I thought…”

“Of course, this form would perish in the light,” you confirmed. “I meant that the skies are not so wonderful from within a completely darkened room.”

He didn’t seem entirely convinced by your answer, rightfully so, and pressed you for more information. “Who are you during the day? Is killing a full time profession or just something you do in the dead of the night, where you can evade judgement?”

“I feel mighty judged right now. You cannot stand above me and laud your morals over my head when they are but a matter of perspective. Right and wrong are two sides of the same coin and it simply depends which side you are on as to how you see the world.”

“What a fitting life philosophy for an assassin to hold.”

“As if you’re any better.”

“Excuse me?”

“You think your plotting within the shadows has gone unnoticed? You are treading a dangerous path, Loki. Please be careful.”

Loki rolled his eyes, more amused by your concern than anything else. “It will be fine. It’s just a joke.”

Sometimes you forgot how young Loki was but in times like this it showed. He was risking ruin and didn’t even realise. He was so caught up in his current pain that he was oblivious to the consequences. You knew you shouldn’t care - you had sworn never to care about anyone, since they could always be your next target - and yet here you were. Worrying over this stupid, stubborn man like a fool instead of letting him face the consequences of his actions alone.

“A joke?” you scoffed. “You plan to release the monsters from your nightmares into Asgard. Are you sure that’s wise?”

“The darkness has no hold in the light of day.”

“That is a naive belief, Loki. I thought you understood better. Darkness is the ever present constant in this universe. It is foolish to believe that the light will save you when it is inevitable that it eventually gives way to the dark. When the end comes, there will be no light to save you. What will you do then when the monsters you fear are in their home turf? When there is nothing to protect you?”

“I am prepared for what is to come and capable of getting myself out of whatever situations you seem to dread. My father shall never know that I was behind it so there is nothing to fear.”

Loki’s confidence was commendable, if stupid. Of course, he would believe that Odin was the only threat to his plan. As if that old fool was a danger to anyone. Barely stopping for breath, he added, “And you have no claim on the high ground, either, for it was you that showed me the path in the first place!”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. He knew you’d shown him a the paths between Asgard and the other realms in good faith, as a means to explore the universe in all its wonder, not to seek petty revenge. Shaking your head, you hissed, “I never intended you to use it this way! The consequences of your actions…”

“What would you know? Shadow walkers cannot see the future.”

“If one knows enough of history then predicting the future becomes easy.”

“What do you fear so much? You are a creature of darkness. A killer for hire. What could you possibly know that scares you so?”

“I know much. It is impossible not to accumulate knowledge when you lurk in the shadows, as I am sure you’re aware.”

“How droll.”

You summoned a dagger and stabbed it into the ground, releasing some of your pent up aggression. Trying to reason with the prince was like pulling blood from a stone. Digging a hole in the ground, you said, “I am being serious, Loki. There are many secrets buried in Asgard’s past. If you welcome the Jotuns here, you welcome the release of those secrets and all the destruction they may unleash.”

“You are wonderfully miserable, you know? Just once I would like to have a conversation with you that doesn’t allude to my eventual demise.”

“Death is the only certainty in life.”

“I feel you would not be so quick to celebrate the end if you lived in the light.”

You laughed at that, much to his confusion. Placing a hand on his arm, you said, “I suspect that it is the fact I kill people for a living that has twisted my soul and not the fact that I cannot venture out beneath the sun. Life can be just as beautiful in the night, if not more so. People are less inhibited, more true to themselves. The dark offers a freedom that the light cannot.”

Loki pondered that for a moment, his forehead crumpling in thought. While he didn’t share his conclusion, you suspected that his conclusion agreed with your observation. He turned onto his side and met your gaze. “What would happen if you went out in the day?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Morbid curiosity,” he shrugged. “And it’s a welcome change to discuss your death instead of mine.”

“The living shadows from which this body is comprised cannot exist in sunlight. It would perish.”

“And your mind?”

“If it wasn’t driven mad, my consciousness would no doubt continue to exist on a separate plane.”

“Would it hurt?”

“Yes. This form may not be bound by the same limitations as a mortal body but I still feel. When I fight, I can be wounded. When I kill, I feel the rush. It is as real for me as it is for you. If I were to go into the light, I would feel my body tearing itself apart. The pain as every single fibre of my being was burned away to nothing.”

Loki went quiet, no doubt troubled by the mental images you were painting.

You placed your hand over his and squeezed gently. As you moved to pull away, the prince surprised you by linking his fingers with yours. It caught you of guard but you had to admit that the warmth that settled in your chest wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“I assure you, though, I have no intention of facing that fate.” Loki’s expression changed little with your confirmation and it took you a moment to realise why. “But that wasn’t your concern, was it? Speak your mind, good prince.”

“You talk of pain and fire and death. Do you never consider the possibility of feeling something more… _Pleasurable?_ ” His sudden confidence was rather charming, if a little unexpected. Subtlety a forgotten concept, Loki’s gaze lingered on your lips. He traced the lines of your face without fear, neither for your shadowy form nor the possibility that you might resist from his touch.

You were no innocent blushing child, certainly not the kind of person to crumble beneath the attentions of another prince, but his intensity was dizzying. You had never denied to yourself that he was an incredibly attractive man. Now, though, with the dark stars reflecting in his eyes and the shadows shimmering around him in a way only you could see, you found yourself looking at the prince anew.

He was everything you were not, could never be. Loki’s seidr was one of pure light. It flowed through his veins like fire, dazzlingly bright like a sun in its prime. And yet beneath that, under the blinding glare, was an emptiness, a frozen void where the heart should be. Loneliness that matched your own.

Loki was a broken soul trapped within a being of light, reaching out to you to forge a real connection with someone who understood. And you did, better than anyone. You knew that the universe was a dark, dismal place but embraced it, faults and all, and recognised the beauty in the shadows nonetheless.

It was foolish to believe you didn’t desire that kind of connection, too.

The prince’s breath hitched in his throat when you pushed him down and straddled him. You brushed the dark hair from his face and drew your sharpened nails down his cheek, not hard enough to draw blood but with the aim of leaving a mark on that delicate, pale skin.

He shuddered beneath you as you trailed your fingers down his neck, a soft moan escaping his lips when you lightly squeezed his throat. You tilted Loki’s chin up so that his lips were a hairsbreadth from yours and you whispered, “Put your silver tongue to work, my prince.”

“Well, if you absolutely insist.” With a show of strength you had not expected, Loki flipped you over so that he was on top. You could easily have pushed him off you but had absolutely no intention of doing that. His weight on your chest, pinning you down to the ground, gave you a rush. The illusion of powerlessness, that you could do nothing to stop the prince from taking whatever he desired, made you heady.

Hovering above you, Loki’s hair tickled your face and he looked down at you with something scarily akin to awe. For reasons unbeknownst to you, it was clear he thought you were beautiful. Even in this form, a creature of nightmares to most, a killer, he saw you as something more. You felt unworthy of such affections but it was almost possible to imagine a better version of yourself existed when he looked at you that way.

One hand resting on your waist, the other tangled in your shadowy hair, he captured your mouth in a soft, slow kiss. You tried to lean up and meet his lips but Loki drew back every time, teasing you until you could take it no more. Loki smirked at your frustration but did deepen the kiss this time, literally taking your breath away. His fingers roamed lazily over your body, taking his time knowing he had the entire night to explore and find all the different ways to unravel your control.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's torture in this chapter, just so you know to expect pain.

_I could have done it, father! I could have done it! For you… for all of us._

_No, Loki._

When he’d let go, Loki had meant to end it all. He had wanted to die. After what he’d done - the people whose trust he had betrayed, the ones he’d killed and the ones he’d wanted to kill - he didn’t deserve to keep living. Odin had confirmed as much. Loki had fallen into the abyss, hoping for absolution or at the very least freedom from his sins. What he had found was so much worse.

They found him lost in Yggdrasil and dragged him out of the shadows and straight into the darkness. For days, months, maybe even years, Loki was locked away in his own personal hell. Time and space meant nothing here. His own personal void. The only sound was the constant rumble of an engine, never giving him a moment’s peace. The harder Loki tried to ignore it, the more inescapable it became. It burrowed into his subconscious and ate away at his sanity, piece by piece, slowly savouring his painful descent into madness.

There was something in the air, some kind of dark, twisted magic woven into the walls that kept him alive even after his internal organs shut down from starvation. His skin dried out and became pale, thin as tissue paper and just as easy to tear, but he didn’t die. His mind lost every battle for sleep; the constant hum of the engines kept him permanently on the edge of consciousness and the rare occasion he drifted to sleep his nightmares jolted him awake near instantly. No matter how much he begged for release from the pain, Loki was never granted the freedom he so desperately sought.

The day the lights came on, Loki was convinced he’d finally gotten his wish. For the briefest of moments, the prince thought he was being welcomed into Valhalla. That the light might give way to a hall of pure gold, filled with the souls of the bravest warriors and fallen kin he’d been told he would see again one day. Too soon, he realised his optimism was misplaced.

Four soldiers - each a different species but all visibly dangerous - entered his cell through a door which vanished the moment they stepped inside. They didn’t speak to him, barely even looked at him. When they did, it was with disgust. Unworthy of their respect. Less than the dirt on their boots.

After weeks alone in the silence, their chatter was overwhelming for Loki. He could not make the specifics of their conversation but certain words came through perfectly clear, as if they were being implanted directly into his mind. He clutched his skull and held back a scream, the words tightening around his throat like a noose. Useless. Disgusting. Pathetic. 

All of a sudden, the room plunged back into darkness and the voices stopped. Even the gentle hum of the engine below disappeared.

For the first time in months, Loki felt the stirrings of emotion in his chest. He wasn’t scared, though. Nor did the absolute silence bring him comfort, either. No. Surrounded by nothingness, trapped in the void once again, the only emotion that Loki felt was rage. Pure, unadulterated rage.

It burned through his body, consumed his thoughts and filled him with a single desire: to wreak vengeance on those who treated him with such disrespect. They had interfered in his death. Denied his wishes to end it all and condemned him to continuing his foul existence here, a place where he could not die. He would kill them for this even if - and he almost hoped it would - it killed him too.

“You shall release me this instant!” Loki screamed, banging his fist against the wall until the shattered bones tore through his flesh. Voice hoarse from hours of shouting, like a man possessed, Loki couldn’t stop. “I am a prince of Asgard! You will show me respect!”

“So there is fight in you after all. Finally. I was beginning to believe I’d wasted my time in bringing you here.”

Loki narrowed his eyes in the darkness, trying in vain to discern the shape of his sudden visitor. He hadn’t expected anyone would answer him, let alone enter his cell. “Where are you holding me?”

“You do not get to ask questions, Jotun.”

His glamour had long since faded, leaving Loki permanently aware of the chill in his core, but hearing that slur hissed so venomously made his blood boil. The shame he’d felt on Asgard had given way to something far darker. The anger he’d felt upon learning his fate paled in comparison to his current rage. The fear which had once crippled him now fed his aggression. “I am a prince of the realm. I shall do whatever I please.”

“That may have been true in the past. Now, you are nothing more than an embarrassment to your pathetic kingdom.”

Loki lunged forward, every inch of his body resisting the sudden movement. Without his seidr to conjure a weapon, far too weak to maintain the control it required, he relied on what little brute strength he still had. He barely made it two steps before being brushed aside like a fly.

A thick hand closed around Loki’s throat, squeezing the air from his lungs. Loki thrashed his limbs, clawed at the vice like grip on his neck. It was a futile exercise, he knew, but maybe if he fought hard enough, was too much of a nuisance to let live, then his captor would tire of him and just end his suffering. A distant dream, perhaps, but a nice one nonetheless.

“You seek revenge. Redemption. I can give you that. All you must do is kneel to me.”

“I will never,” Loki hissed. His leg cracked in two when he hit the floor, a burning pain shooting through his body. Between that and the near suffocation, Loki was only hanging on to consciousness through pure spite. Through gritted teeth, barely able to sound the words with his voice box crushed, Loki croaked, “You think there is any pain you can inflict that will change my mind?”

The man’s laugh was like a blade in Loki’s skull. “You will wish for something as sweet as pain.”

***

_Small for a Giant’s offspring, abandoned, suffering, left to die._

Loki stopped hitting back within a week.

He simply bowed his head, eyes scrunched closed, body curled up in the corner of the cell, and waited for the first sharp bite of her spear. Already, he could feel his muscles tightening, the memories of poison from its tip burning through his veins. One cut was enough to paralyse him. The second, third and fourth served only to make him wish for death, to see how long he could hold out before he begged for release from this pitiful existence.

Dying never got less painful but the resurrection was almost pleasant compared to everything else that Loki had endured. It was like waking up from a long sleep, jolted awake, gasping for breath as his heart threatened to burst out of his chest. For a moment, disorientated but free from the crushing weight of this awful reality, he was able to find peace in the emptiness. It never lasted long, though.

***

_So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me?_

There’s only so long a person can continue fighting, mentally. Eventually, even anger fades away and the spirit is broken. The single thought that keeps a man going - in Loki’s case, revenge - begins to become cloudy, intangible, until he can no longer recall why he is not just accepting defeat.

For Loki, his hard resolve shattered all too soon. Starved, beaten, tortured. His captors spared no opportunity to make him scream, beg and cry over his pitiful existence. How the mighty prince has fallen, they would say, laughing over his broken body until he thought he could take it no more.

But that night - or possible day; time had lost all meaning in this hell - when all was lost for the prince, a stirring in the shadows reignited the fire within Loki’s heart. In the darkness, the shadows solidified and took on the most intense, most beautiful shades of red and purple that Loki had ever seen.

He reached out to touch the burning swirls but his fingers passed straight through them. An illusion. His mind playing tricks, making shapes out of the nothingness. The sob that escaped his lips was a cry from the depths of his very soul. “Y/N…”

The shadows danced across his skin, warm and soft as they wrapped around him like a blanket. Loki closed his eyes and focused on that impossible spark of hope which remained, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. Perhaps, just maybe, it was you. You were reaching out across the galaxy, trying to find him.

“Be strong, my darling prince.”

Loki’s heart tightened in his chest. The rational part of his mind - as jumbled as it was - knew you couldn’t be here. Your gentle fingers on his cheek were a hallucination. Your voice, the most beautiful melody in the galaxy, was a distant memory. He only needed to open his eyes to prove that that was true.

He couldn’t do it, though. Instead, his thoughts drifted back to that last, glorious night he had spent with you. The details were hazy now. Everything before the fall was. But your smile had been brighter than a supernova when he’d held your hand. Your lips on his were greedy but giving, filling his heart with a happiness he’d never felt worthy of before you showed him how everyone deserved love whether they walked in the light or dark. 

The light within burned a little brighter than before with the fragmented memories of you keeping him sane. The shadows lost a part of their hold on his mind and, for the first time in what seemed like forever, Loki slept peacefully that night. So long as you were there, he would never give in.

***

_What will you do then when the monsters you fear are in their home turf? When there is nothing to protect you?_

When his captors realised that Loki actually found solace in the absolute darkness of his cell, they immediately took that away. The harsh lights blinded him every waking hour, slowly but surely burning the mental image of your face from his mind.

Every inch of his prison was white. The scraps of food he was permitted once a week were served in a white dish and had been bleached of all colour. His torturers stopped coming to visit. He could hear neither the sound of the engines below nor the steps of the guards outside. Without even the shadows as companions, Loki was truly alone.

At least until the voices appeared.

They spewed poisonous barbs, never ending in their taunts. They laughed at him, the harsh sounds like blades inside his skull, and repeatedly pointed out his constant failures. Failure to be a good son, a monster hidden away for the good of all those around him. Failure to be a good king, forever doomed to be the shadow of a greater man. Failure to die, no matter how hard he tried.

His chest heaved as he struggled to breathe. The room was closing in around him, the voices growing louder with every seconds until Loki was sure the pressure inside his head was too much. He screamed nonsensical prayers, every sound sandpaper in his throat, tearing the flesh to pieces as he cried out to the Norns who had forsaken him.

“Oh, Loki,” you said, kneeling down in front of him. Your shadowy figure trembled, fading in and out of existence. You stroked his face, your expression neutral as he trembled beneath your fingers. It had been so long, Loki had forgotten what a gentle touch felt like.

Voice trembling, unable to believe that you were really there, that the Norns had answered his pleads, Loki breathed, “Y/N?”

“Yes. It’s me.”

“How…?”

“That doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I’m here to help you.”

Loki’s heart was pounding in his chest, the thought of escaping this terrible place almost too much to imagine. He’d given up hope that you would come. He was trapped in a part of the universe outside your reach. You probably didn’t even know he was alive. And yet, despite all of that, here you were.

But, that couldn’t be real. You’d told him… You’d said… Something about the light. He racked his brain, trying desperately to remember your words. However, every time he got close, the memories slipped away like sand through his fingers.

“Stop thinking, Loki. I am here. Let me help you.”

He shook his head, near frantic as he pulled away. This wasn’t right. You couldn’t be here, not in this light. It had to be a trick. A new kind of torture. Rocking on the spot, his head hitting the wall with every sway, Loki dug his nails into his skull. “You aren’t real. You’re an illusion.”

Your shadowy form shifted into something… Other before solidifying again into your more familiar shape. You gripped his arm tightly, jolting him back to attention. “Look at me.”

Loki did as you ordered, unable to resist your command. He could not resist the pull, an almost tangible force tugging on his body, but didn’t entirely want to. He knew, deep down, that you couldn’t be real. However his desire, his need, for you to truly be there overrode all sensibility. Living a pleasant lie had to be better than facing the worst of the universe.

“Good. Well done.” Your hold on his arm lessened and you smiled viciously at his reluctant co-operation. “What do you want most, Loki?”

“To be free of this pain,” he whispered, his gaze falling to the ground.

“I can help you.”

“How?”

“Swear loyalty to Lord Thanos. He will show you what true power is.”

“I don’t want power. I want -”

“You want to be free of this pain, I know. You must embrace the knowledge that our Lord is willing to bestow upon you and find your purpose. That is the true way to escape pain. To find meaning in it and use it for the glorious greater good.”

Loki braved to meet your hard gaze. A cold shiver ran down his spine and spread like ice through his veins. It was as if all the stars in the universe had gone out, the last sparks of hope on the verge of being lost to the void forever. Clinging to your arm, Loki said, “There must be another way, Y/N.”

You shook your head, pulling yourself free from his feeble grip. “There is no other way, Loki. If you want to escape the pain, you will kneel to him. Our Lord will give you all you desire and more. Power. Purpose. Freedom.”

“Will you… Will you stay with me?”

“Of course.”

It was a lie. He knew deep down that the moment he spoke the words that you would disappear. This was the end of the line for him now. Nothing would erase what was about to happen but perhaps it would make the past easier to bear. Maybe power was the key to finally being free of everything that weighed him down.

Wherever you really were, Loki hoped that you’d be able to forgive him.

The illusion of your form fell away as he stared at the Other and uttered the words, “Take me to Thanos.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Are you here to join in with my torment? Or simply to highlight my failure?”

You pulled yourself out of the shadows and solidified in front of where Loki sat. He was sprawled out on a hard bed, staring at the ceiling with indifference. He looked different to how you remembered. Harder, somehow. The gleeful mischief in his eyes, which you’d grown to know and love, was gone. His body, battered and bruised but only damaged by the Hulk on a superficial level, was thinner than you remembered and it only served to sharpen his already jagged edges.

His gaze briefly flittered towards where you now stood and his entire body stiffened before that sneering complacency fell over his features again. “I’m in no mood for this today. What do you want?”

“I want to kill you,” you answered honestly. You couldn’t put into words how furious you were with the prince. You summoned a dagger and ran the cold black length across your palm, the uneven edge scratching against your skin. “For everything you’ve done, no-one would stop me. They might even thank me.”

The months after his death - as you’d believed it, anyway - had been awful for you. You’d been consumed by rage and despair so deep that the universe had never seen one so dangerous. Your one friend in the entire universe, the person with whom you’d forged your first real connection for over two millennia, had been snatched away without warning. You’d foreseen pain and suffering in the aftermath of Loki’s heritage coming to light but had never believed he’d end his life over it or that you’d be the one in anguish.

You had hoped, foolishly in retrospect, that you meant enough to the prince that he’d have a reason to keep living through those initial dark times. You’d hoped to be his guide through the murky shadows and help him get past the confusion and betrayal so that he may one day accept himself. Perhaps even see the man that you saw.

But events had transpired in a way far worse than you’d ever imagined possible. The betrayal Loki felt ran too deep. The bigoted king drove his son to the edge and did nothing to help ease his pain. Your predictions could never have prepared you for what occurred and you were unprepared for the untimely death of your broken prince. You sought revenge for his wasted life, for your own loss. The universe would pay for taking him away from you.

And it did. You accepted a multitude of new, risky contracts. You bathed in the glorious rewards and used your work as therapy, maiming and killing with a renewed vigour. A healthy coping mechanism it was not but its effectiveness could hardly be denied. The year passed and you finally felt like you could move on with your life.

At least until yesterday when you saw Loki’s face on the news, surrounded by a Chitauri army.

“You are welcome to try,” Loki said blankly, seemingly unfazed by your threat. “You aren’t real anyway. A figment of my twisted imagination.”

“A figment? Loki, stop this foolishness. If you don’t want to see me, just say.”

“Foolishness? I speak nothing but the truth. You are my subconscious trying to pitifully reconcile what I’ve done. Or a vision from the Other to remind me that there is no place I can hide from him. Either way, it matters not what you are, only that you aren’t real. I have no intention of settling this debt. ”

Your confusion over his words gave way to curiosity. Since Loki seemed to be in the mood to talk, which you truly hadn’t expected, you chose to go along with his fantasy and pushed for answers. “What debt would that be, exactly?”

“The price of failure.”

“You are settling that debt right now, are you not? You are, after all, being held prisoner in the Avenger’s basement as you await trial for your crimes against Humanity.”

The dark haired prince scoffed. “The disapproval of Humans is hardly a steep price to pay.”

“This could all have been avoided if you’d listened to me. I told you not to be reckless, Loki.”

In an instant Loki was sat upright on his bed, back pressed firmly against the cold hard wall. He was staring at you intently now, almost as if he were a predator readying himself for the kill. “You were the one who pushed me to follow their idiotic orders. You said that I should give in to him.”

“You’re blaming me for your mistakes? If you were foolish enough to believe a promise of impossible grandeur then shame on you but do not lump it on to me when I have nothing to do with this.”

“Nothing to do with this? You were there by my side the entire time!”

“No, I wasn’t. If I had been, I would have stopped you from following this path long ago. I should have stopped you in Asgard, long before any of this started.”

With a sigh, you sat down on the rock hard bed by Loki’s side and lifted your hand to brush the hair from his face. Your heart broke when the prince flinched, expecting a pain which you could never inflict upon him. You dropped your hand to your lap and studied his face in the darkness, horrified by the mess of scars which were hidden just beneath the surface. “You did not deserve what they did to you, Loki.”

Hatred dripped from his voice, thick like tar as the words clung to your skin. “You have no idea what they did to me.”

“I am a creature of darkness, Loki. I can see the invisible scars that the weapons of my kind leave.” You reached out and took his hand, nearly shocked into letting go by the sudden rush of ice that ran through your body. His Jotun physiology was stronger now, closer to the surface than before when it had lay dormant, hidden deep below. You adjusted, though. After all, there was rarely much heat - or much of anything, for that matter - in the void.

Trailing your fingers over the back of his hand, the thick black scars began to reveal themselves until every inch of his pale flesh was marred with their darkness. Some scars were nothing more than little cuts and scratches, applied in their thousands until Loki must have bled out on the floor. Others showed where his hands had been impaled onto daggers of shadow, his delicate flesh ripped and torn as he fought to break free.

You had a thick stomach for violence and torture but imagining what Loki must have been through made you feel sick to your core. And this was just one hand.

With a sharp tug, you pulled your powers back and allowed the scars to retreat into the void once more. You could still see them however at least now they were partially hidden by the glimmer of Loki’s seidr. But even that didn’t glow as brightly as before. He truly had been through Hell.

“Y/N?”

You glanced up at the prince, who was staring at you wide eyed. It was as if he were seeing you for the first time, waking up from a dream - or nightmare - and truly seeing you. Somewhere between an accusation and a statement of complete and utter relief, you weren’t entire sure, Loki breathed, “It’s you.”

A breath caught in your throat as he pressed his lips against yours. His fingers dug into your hips as he pulled you closer, sparks flying everywhere he touched. Loki kissed you like he had something to prove, like he needed you more than the air to survive.

“It’s actually you,” he said again, his eyes fluttering in pleasure as you traced your clawed fingers lightly over his skin.

“What gave it away?”

“Your powers. He… They… The others… They looked like you, sounded like you, but could never manipulate the shadows the way you can,” Loki answered, too busy running his hands over your body to catch the rhetorical nature of your question. His touch was intense, almost erratic. He cupped your neck, your face; ran his hands down your arms, over your thighs. He dragged his nails down your sides, tugged a little too hard on your hair. He was just feeling every part of you, desperately proving to himself that you were real.

You couldn’t say you minded, either. It was exciting, the rough and raw emotion bursting out of his body. He was hungry and desperate to feel and it was so easy to lose yourself in that blinding heat. The power was dizzying and you were willing to make the fall. While your heart ached for the naive prince you’d known, this was still Loki and you would take whatever version of him you could if it meant being with him again.

“I’m here, Loki,” you said.

Beneath you, the prince stiffened. His hands fell to his sides, bitterness and despair pooling in his eyes. “But for how long?”

“For as long as you’ll have me, my darling prince.”

Loki closed his eyes and turned his face into your palm, covering your hand with his own. He was broken, vulnerable, and you wished that you could put him back together but there was no coming back from this. You both knew that. But, in this moment, you could dream. You could remember that last night on Asgard and pretend that everything since had just been a terrible nightmare. You could go back to when there was still hope for a better future. For a real life together.

The silence dragged around you, seemingly eternal as you bathed in the familiarity, in the possibilities, of one another. Time flows strangely in the dark. One second can last a lifetime where hours can pass by in a flash. It always moves on, though. Drags you through, willing or not, until eventually you have to face the truth. You have to face the shadows and accept the harsh reality around you.

There is no going back. There is no escape. All you can do is move forward and forge a path through the night, until you may step out into the even harsher light of day. Whatever the consequences, you had to keep moving forward.

So, that’s exactly what you would do.

Curling in to his chest, you met his gaze in the darkness and said, “I have a plan.”

“And you’d share it so willingly?”

“I can’t do it alone. I need your help if it is to succeed.”

“What do you need from me?”

“In time, darling prince.” You drew your finger over his jaw, your chest constricting in guilt. You didn’t want to keep the truth from him but if he knew what you really had planned he would never go along with it. Or maybe he would, and that was why you were so scared. You didn’t yet know what this Loki was capable of and until you were sure you could trust him you couldn’t be entirely truthful.

Loki watched you through the shadows, seeing more than he had before Thanos broke his mind. He was more in tune with the darkness now that he’d seen the worst that the universe had to offer. It was dangerous. You weren’t sure he would be able to handle what truths were hidden in the black of the night. You didn’t want to lose him again.

Gripping your waist, pulling you closer to his chest, Loki ran his fingers through the twisted strands of your hair and asked, “Why should I go along with your plan, shadow walker? What will I get in return?”

“I can give you everything you desire, Loki. This pitiful world may fall at your feet yet. You had the power, you just didn’t know how to use it. I can show you.”

“And what is in it for you? What do you get for lifting me to my rightful place as a king?”

“Power. Freedom. Same as you. I am tired of being confined to the shadows. It is time I break free from these limitations. So, are you on board? Will you help me? Or am I to go at this alone?”

Loki narrowed his eyes, searching for any sign that you meant to betray him. A fair fear to hold, after everything that he had been through. While he wasn’t entirely convinced by your words, there was enough trust between you to accept the plan - at least for now. “I shall assist you. If you tell me what we seek.”

“The Tesseract and the sceptre,” you answered immediately. “Once we have those, everything we desire shall be ours.”

“They shall not be easy to reclaim. The mortals have them locked away and will not part with them easily; certainly not for me.”

“All we need is time and that is a luxury that you and I can afford to invest. Leave it to me, my darling prince, and the path will soon become clear. Things are already in motion. Just you wait and see.”

“If this is a deception, Y/N, I shall kill you.”

You met his threat with a sweet smile, expecting nothing less from the prince now. “And the same goes for you. This is a joint venture, Loki. We do this together or not at all. If you try anything that puts the plan into jeopardy, I will not hesitate to run that sceptre through your chest. And there will be no coming back, this time. I will kill you and ensure that no amount of dark energy may revive your corpse.”

Brushing his lips over yours, Loki murmured, “I have missed you, darling.”

“And I you, my love.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is NSFW. Check the tags for warnings. If you are not comfortable just skip the chapter, it's not important to the plot.

There was enough doubt in the Avengers’ minds over Loki’s guilt that they were blocking all the demands for Loki to be handed over to other authorities (both of Earth and further afield) and keeping him at The Tower for safety. Whose safety he wasn’t entirely sure, certainly not theirs, but he was relieved he did not have to suffer through the boredoms of a mortal trial.

Weeks turned into months and, as per your agreement, he made no attempts to escape. He was a model prisoner, waiting patiently for you to set your plan into motion, and even offered his assistance on missions. The Avengers quite adamantly refused his help but Loki saw the moments of fondness in Thor’s eyes and knew you were right: it would only be a matter of time before they trusted him enough to leave the cell and then the fun could really begin.

Days past rather uneventfully. To start, no one had (officially; you came unofficially every night) visited Loki in his prison cell except to bring him food three times a day. Slowly, though, as the mortals began to believe his murderous tendencies were retreating, more people were granted permission to see him.

Physicians attempted to monitor his physical state but their knowledge of Jotun physiology was woefully poor. All they could do was run their tests and marvel at the results, forming conclusions on wildly inaccurate, ancient sources of information. Loki supposed they must have asked Thor to fill in the gaps but his brother was none the wiser. Even if he returned to Asgard and searched the palace library for useful texts he would find none. Loki knew from experience that Odin kept no such books lying around.

Loki most enjoyed the visits from the psychologists. The ones who claimed to know his mind but could hardly find their way through an open door without assistance. It was so entertaining to talk circles around the so called ‘experts’ and watch them try to analyse the nonsense he spouted. By the time they realised what he was doing, Loki had started peppering in truthful statements to the lies which left them scrambling back through months of notes in a feeble attempt to ascertain what had actually been real and what was nothing more than a verbal illusion.

Every once in a while, Thor would dain to visit Loki, too. Those were not his proudest moments. For every kind word that his brother offered, Loki retaliated with one of anger. He cut Thor in every way he knew how, pushing the knife in as deeply as possible, because he could. Thor took it all without batting an eyelid because he thought, in a twisted way, it showed Loki still cared. His brother had always been a fool.

Naturally, you were Loki’s favourite visitor. Every night, without fail, you snuck through the shadows and let yourself into his cell without alerting anyone to your presence. Your mastery of the darkness had grown tenfold in the past few months and you were able to control them in ways he had never imagined.

The power you possessed was intoxicating. You never held back, either, too occupied with your own ends to waste time with humility. It was mesmerising and Loki oft found himself filled with a strange combination of adoration and terror over what you were capable of doing. For all his strength, Loki was well aware he stood no chance against your strength. If you ever decided to terminate this relationship, then that would be the end for him. That thought was exhilarating.

For your wonders, though, you were utterly infuriating at times. Most of the time, in fact.

No matter how persistently he asked, you refused to provide any further details about your plan to steal the Scepter and the Tesseract. You held back vital information, dropping nonsensical clues in the hope of satiating his curiosity which really only served to anger him more. If you didn’t trust him to hold his tongue, he’d rather you cut it out than treat him like a subordinate.

Tonight proved no different.

“You will tell me,” Loki growled, summoning his dagger from the void.

“Mind yourself, dear prince. I will not be spoke to in this manner.”

You spoke like you were putting a child in their place, your words dripping with a disappointed condemnation. It was like being 200 all over again and your calmness in the face of his threats made Loki’s blood boil. He couldn’t decide whether you saw him as unworthy of inclusion, incompetent or simply too weak. Whatever it was, he was determined to change your view.

He had his blade at your throat before you’d registered the movement. The cold, sharp metal edge trembled as he drew it across your throat, drawing the equivalent of blood from your body of darkness. Using all his godly strength, Loki pressed you against the wall and hissed, “You think yourself above me yet you bleed none the same.”

The dark, viscous liquid dripped from your wound onto Loki’s hand. It was freezing, far colder than the Jotun blood which flowed through his own veins. And yet, despite that, it burnt his skin like acid. His flesh peeled away, decomposing in a matter of seconds. The exposed nerve endings withered and died before his eyes and yet the agonising pain continued to wrack his nervous system.

Loki fell to his knees, unable to control his body’s response to the poison that flowed through your veins. Hating you for the way which you brought him to beg for help, Loki whimpered, “Make it stop.”

You instantly wrapped your taloned fingers around his wrist, cutting off all feeling to his hand. Loki knew he should be disconcerted with the complete ease with which you crippled him but all felt was relief that he could no longer feel the excruciating pain of your blood eating away at his flesh.

Meeting his eyes through the darkness, your gaze unreadable, your tongue darted between your lips before you lifted his hand to your mouth, dragging him to his feet as if he weighed nothing. You licked the blood from his skin, relaxing your vice like grip on his wrist so that he may feel the sensation of your cool lips soothing the wound.

You pressed a soft kiss to the burn, then another to the inside of his wrist. Loki shuddered as you drew your sharp teeth over the sensitive skin. His seidr flickered, triggered perhaps by the harrowing coldness of your touch, or maybe by a different kind of magic altogether, bringing forth his true blue self.

Loki waited for you to recoil from his monstrous form but you did not. Instead, you traced the light patterns on his skin, every carefully touch revealing more of the body he loathed until the frost spread all the way up to his cheeks. Loki turned his face away but stopped fighting the change.

The gentleness in your touch brought him back to that night on Asgard before everything had changed. It reminded him that life hadn’t always been this way, that there had once been joy in his life. Once upon a time, he hadn’t been a monster. Thanos had not warped his mind, turned him into this pathetic mockery of himself.

Your soft touch no longer seemed a kindness.

It filled loki with a rage which you appeared all too willing to be on the receiving end of. He shoved you aside, your eyes wide with desire as your back slammed into the wall. It was as if you enjoyed the pain he caused you. As if it proved he was real and more than just a passing shadow, a lingering memory, in the darkness.

If that was what you wanted from him then Loki was more than happy to oblige.

You reached out to touch Loki again, the last remnants of care flickering in your eyes. However before you had the chance, he grabbed your wrists and shoved them above your head, pinning you to the wall. He smashed his lips against yours, rough and forceful and devoid of anything but aggression.

A sharp pain jolted Loki backwards. He brought his hand to his lips, wiping away the blood you’d drawn with a sneer. “That’s how you want to do this? Fine.”

He lunged forward but your form dissipated before he reached you. Instead, Loki found himself being thrown against the wall, the impact momentarily winding him. You took advantage of his weakness, solidifying before him and wrapping your hand around his throat, restricting his airflow just enough to make his lungs burn.

The cold air rushed back down his throat for but a moment before you cut off the supply in a different way; crushing your lips against his in a deep, passionate kiss. You raked your fingers through Loki’s hair, your sharp nails unnervingly gentle against his scalp.

Loki shoved you back by the shoulders, meeting your gaze. The red of his eyes was reflected in your own, your usual purple tinged with crimson now. He didn’t need to speak, the message came through perfectly clear. Don’t hold back. Make me feel. Make me hurt. I deserve it.

Your expression hardened as you grabbed his hair and tossed him on the sheet of concrete masquerading as a bed. Clawing at his clothes, you straddled his thighs and ripped the shirt from his chest. His trousers were next, tossed aside with the rest of his clothes as you pulled his cock free of its restraints.

“So hard already,” you hummed, the vibrations of your lips against his skin sending a sharp jolt straight to his cock. Loki twitched beneath you, the dangerous glimmer in your eye far more of a turn on than it should have been.

Squeezing the base, you bent down and took his length in your mouth. Loki tangled his fingers through your dark hair and bucked his hips. You wasted no time in sucking him off, running your tongue over every ridge on his skin, taking note of how his body responded and adjusting your technique accordingly to bring him to the edge as quickly as you could.

You hollowed your cheeks around his cock, scratching your nails down his sides then gripping him tightly by the hips as took him all the way down your throat. The lack of a gap reflex was definitely a benefit of your ever changing form and you were quick to make use of it.

Loki’s breathing became shallow, a heat spreading through his body as his muscles tightened. Another second and he’d spill his seed down your tight little throat but before he could you pulled away, slipping through his grasp light sand. He groaned in frustration, falling back on the bed.

He wrapped his hand around the base of his cock to finish himself only for you to rematerialise on top of him once again. He made no attempt to resist as you pulled his hands above his head.

Your eyes burning scarlet now, not a trace of purple in sight, you bared your teeth and hissed, “You will only come when I say you can. Do you understand?”

When he didn’t respond, you summoned a blade of darkness from the air and pressed it against his throat, tugging harshly on his hair. A sharp thrill ran down Loki’s spine at the threat, the danger, but he was not stupid enough to deny you an answer any longer. “I understand.”

“Good.”

Loki groaned as you lowered yourself on to him. He filled you completely, sliding into your wet, aching hole with ease. Your expression twisted into one of bliss as you stretched around his cock, rolling your hips slowly, savouring the moment before using him like a toy, a instrument to get yourself off without a care in the world for his own pleasure.

He’d have it no other way.

Sliding his hands over your body, Loki squeezed your breasts gently, lost to the feeling of you, of your body and his locked together in the purest way. You were beautiful, the way your figure shimmered in the darkness, strength and power and life radiating from you and capturing his heart.

Catching his sentiment, cursing himself for succumbing to the weakness of feelings, Loki suddenly pinched your nipples, twisting them hard enough to make your eyes water. Eyes narrowing at the pain, clenching your pussy around his cock in a way that made Loki’s breath catch in his through, you lowered your face to his. Your cold breath a startling extreme to the heat in Loki’s cheeks, you whispered, “Do that again.”

You caught his bottom lip between your teeth, tugging harshly before shifting your attention to his neck. Sharp bites, far more than simple playful nips, soothed barely enough to make the pain pleasurable. A stark reminder of how easily you could hurt him, truly hurt him.The combined sensation of your core tightening around him and your tongue tracing the sensitive ridges on his skin had Loki writhing beneath you. His quiet whimpers filled the cell, desperation rolling off him in waves.

He hissed when you sunk your teeth into the base of his throat but found himself pleading for more nonetheless. He knew what you were doing; it was exactly what he’d asked. This was animalistic, rough and aggressive. A release for all that anger and fear and hatred that burned inside you both. This was no place for sentiment.

Pulling his arms above his head, not bothering to check your strength, you rode him faster, throwing your head back as you chased your own pleasure. You wrapped your hand around his throat once again, digging your fingers in with the intention of leaving bruises. As his eyes blurred from the lack of oxygen, Loki returned the favour, smacking your ass hard enough to make you scream.

Loki felt you tighten around his dick as you came, a beautiful expression on your face as the pleasure rolled through you. He didn’t stop to savour it, though. It would be too dangerous to indulge those thoughts. Instead, he flipped you over, the air rushing from your lungs as he thrust into you hard and fast, chasing his own release.

“Harder,” you ordered, scratching your nails down his back so hard that you drew blood. You wrapped your legs around him, hooking your ankles behind his ass. You both sighed at the extra contact but it did little to close the emotional chasm between you. That thought flickered away as you thrust your hips up against his, drawing him down and sucking a dark bruise on to his collarbone.

The sharp sting reminded Loki that you were not easily broken so he went deeper, right to the hilt with every stroke. Your tight walls fluttered around him as you got closer, your eyes rolling back as a second orgasm built in your core, still high off the first. The words soft, almost like a prayer, you murmured, “Take it, Loki. Take what you want.”

He did. Loki fucked you until he came, emptying his load into you. Your pussy clenched around him, milked him for every drop until he finally pulled out, the sticky combination of his and your cum dripping down your thigh.

Not even waiting for the buzz to wear off, you rolled out from beneath him, a soft sigh escaping your lips as you swung your legs over the edge of the bed. Glancing back over your shoulder, you gave Loki a sad smile before disappearing wordlessly into the night.

The cell felt smaller when you weren’t there, the walls more confining than ever. The only proof that you had ever even been there were the scratches that marred Loki’s back and the marks you’d peppered over his skin. However, come morning they too would fade and those that lingered would be hidden by his seidr.

You’d be back, though. You always came back no matter how rough Loki was with you. It didn’t matter what he did, what he said. You always came back. That knowledge filled his chest with an indescribable warmth. Despite everything, you still cared. He did, too.

This wasn’t love. No. Loki had long since lost the ability to feel that but it was a connection. A blazing fire that for a few hours every night (for this was hardly a rare occurrence) that kept him from drowning in the cold harsh truths of this universe. It wasn’t love but it was more than he deserved.

It hurt more than any torture ever could.


	7. Chapter 7

It was pitiful, really, that they thought these chains would hold him. All it would take was a short burst of his magic to release the mechanism, freeing him quickly enough to summon a dagger and take out every one of Earth’s so called mighty heroes before they even knew what had hit them. What a glorious thought. But your voice was strong in Loki’s mind, reminding him to bide his time and play nicely. So that was what he did, however reluctantly.

Throwing his legs over the chair, Loki stretched out and waited eagerly for them to speak the words they dreaded, to plead for his help. Oh, such a tremendous feeling to see them so stuck that they had no choice but to turn to him for guidance. He who had destroyed the city they so keenly fought to protect. He who cared little for their world, now the only one with the information to save it.

His gaze remained aloof but Loki was watching the footage on the screens carefully, taking in all the details which the team had likely missed.

“What do you see, Lokes?”

Loki whipped his head around to Stark and growled. Norns, that mortal was irritating. Of course it was he that the Avengers chose to pump Loki for information; for all his irritating qualities (of which there were many) Stark was the only one of the team that Loki found remotely interesting.

Stark knew it too and took every opportunity to poke fun at Loki, purposefully riling him up as if to test his self control. To see just how far he could push before Loki snapped. The mortal was lucky that you wanted the Avengers alive of he’d had long since thrown the tiny man out the window.

His scowl softened into a knowing smirk as Loki boxed away his irritation and asked, “It’s perfectly obvious, wouldn’t you say?”

Stark crossed his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes at Loki’s attempt to pick at his ego. “Humour me.”

“All your intellect and you miss what is right under your nose.”

“Brother, enough.”

Pushing aside the anger at being put into place by Thor, well aware that thrashing out against him now would put your entire plan in jeopardy, Loki sat back in the chair, a bored expression on his face. “The woman is a witch. I know not where she hails from only that she spent many years hiding on Alfheim. She is responsible for summoning the creatures which your team seem so incapable of handling.”

“How do we stop her?”

Loki held up his wrists. “Remove these chains and allow me to speak with her. I’ve dealt with the wretch before.”

“And risk you levelling the city in the process? No thanks.”

“As if your green giant has done no worse.”

“Loki…” Thor warned. Mjolnir twitched in the corner of the room, the silent warning coming through loud and clear. The last thing Loki wanted was to have his chest crushed by that sodding hammer again; it had taken weeks to heal after the last time and he was not too keen to repeat that torture anytime soon.

Resting his weight on his elbows, Stark leant forward across the wide table and said, “We’ll be fine without your help. All we need from you is information on how to stop her demons from terrorising Manhattan. They don’t stay dead no matter what we throw at them.”

With little other choice but to comply, Loki shared what he knew of the threat. He cut out the more interesting, gory details, aware of the time constraints and just not in the right frame of mind to take pleasure from making Stark pale at the dangers. “They are creatures of darkness. These demons, as you call them, as formed of living shadow. They hail from another dimension where the forces of light were long since extinguished. Your pathetic weapons cannot hurt them.”

“You speak of the Shadow Walkers, do you not?” Thor asked, the rare display of intelligence earning a morsel of respect from Loki. His brother never remembered anything of note and Loki was almost tempted to conjure something shiny as a reward. However, with Mjolnir still shaking in the corner, he decided against it.

Running a hand through his hair, Stark tapped the table and asked, “What are you two blabbering about?”

“Shadow Walkers,” Loki reiterated. For a genius, Stark really did miss a lot. It was a wonder he was still alive at all. “They crossed over from their dimension millennia ago in an attempt to rid this one of light and bring it under their control. When they failed, the soldiers that remained split from their brigade and became the greatest assassins in this universe. They move through the darkness, unseen, unheard, and kill without remorse.”

Thor chuckled a little too forcefully as he attempted to lighten the atmosphere in the room. “These are but stories. Tales which parents tell children on Asgard to scare them. Shadow Walkers do not exist.”

“Just because you have not encountered one does not mean they don’t exist. After all, there is such a thing called a shower, not that you would know. There is far more to the universe than your eyes have seen.”

“These demons are Shadow Walkers, then?” Tony asked, angrily clicking his fingers to bring the brothers back to the point at hand.

“Of course not. These are the beasts which roam in the darkness of their original dimension now that their masters are no longer around to control them. The witch tore a hole in the fabric of reality and called them to do her bidding. If you wish to vanquish them you need only conjure a light. Creatures of living shadow cannot exist outside the cover of night. Come morning they will wither and die in the sunlight.”

“We can’t wait that long. They’ve already trampled half of downtown. The team can only keep them at bay for so long.”

Loki frowned. If the great Tony Stark could not find a way to artificially produce such a bright light to eradicate the beasts then there was only one obvious path to take. The fact that neither Stark nor his brother picked up on such was disappointing but not surprising, given their annoying tendency to preserve life at all cost. “Kill the witch, then. It is her energy maintaining the link between the dimensions. Kill her, destroy the link.”

“There must be another way to break the link without killing her,” Tony said.

“That is not my concern. I have told you what I know. It is for you to deal with the problem now. You know where to find me if you find yourself unable to do what must be done.”

A sharp knock on the door announced the arrival of Pepper Potts. Loki sat upright in his chair and leant away from the door as the redhead entered. She eyes Loki wearily but they all knew he was neither brave nor stupid enough to try and take her on. Surrounded by ‘mighty’ heroes though he may be, Pepper was the only one that truly struck fear into his heart.

There was something wild in her, a streak of defiance, determination, that had the potential to be twisted into something incredibly dangerous. She reminded him of his mother, in a way, which was in no small part one of the reasons he kept distance between them. Frigga had been deadly when upset or angry and Loki fears Ms Potts possessed the same unpredictable temperament.

She draped her hand on Stark’s shoulder and said, “The Senator is on the line again.”

“Leave him on hold.”

“I can’t leave him on hold any longer,Tony. It’s already been an hour. He keeps asking whether you are capable to handling the situation or whether the military need to get involved and I am getting tired of hearing that condescending pri-”

“Ms Potts, the Senator is really rather insistent that he -“

The new woman in the doorway, the one responsible for interrupting Pepper, took one look at Loki and froze. The Avengers’ faces softened in understanding. Most people reacted the same way around the god who invaded New York but Loki was more confused than offended. It wasn’t fear in those pretty eyes. It was something else entirely.

There was something otherworldly about her. Loki couldn’t put his finger on it. She appeared human but the closer he looked the more convinced Loki was that this was a facade of some kind. Her skin was too smooth, without a mark or blemish to be seen. She stood awkwardly, tugging at her ear not in nerves but as one might pull on a shirt to straighten out their appearance.

In her eyes there was the intensity of a dying star, bright and shining but tainted with pain. The things she had seen had left a mark on her, underlying her story with a darkness that Loki had never felt from a mortal before. This was a woman all too aware of the fragility of existence, a soul who had witness more death, more endings, than anyone else alive.

The strangest thing of all was the sense of familiarity Loki felt with her near. He knew her somehow but there was no memory of her face in all his years. Perhaps if he touched her, solidified a connection, he would remember…

However, before he could get close, the woman stepped back and forced a smile onto her face. “Ms Potts, the Senator is really rather insistent you answer his call.”

“When is he not? Thanks, Shayah. I’ll be two minutes.”

As she left, Loki found himself fixated on her shadow. It shimmered with a gentle purple, rippling like a breeze over a pond as she walked away.

“Stay focused, Reindeer Games. I know you’re horny all the time - lord knows you’ve scarred every agent that gets stuck monitoring your cell feed at night with your moaning - but stay away from my employees.”

“Technically she’s my employee since I’m CEO,” Pepper said, earning a proud smile from Stark. “But the point stands. Leave her alone. Your pool of advocates here is pathetically small; you don’t want to scare away one of your loudest. Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I have a Senator to placate and you have monsters to fight.”

Loki was too busy trying to work out who the woman was and why she’d sing his praises in private but freeze around him to pay the others any real attention. He let himself be led back down to the cells without so much as a sarcastic comment, even mumbling a distracted, “Good luck, brother,” as he was taken away.

Thankfully it wasn’t long before he got his answers.

The lights flickered in the hallway as she walked down the corridor towards his cell, her heels clipping steadily against the concrete floor. Loki watched her carefully, hiding his uncertainty behind a leering smile. “Look, a little lamb for the slaughter.”

“What were you doing out of your cell?”

“Stark required my assistance.”

“You weren’t causing trouble?”

“No,” Loki said, watching her carefully. She showed no signs of fear or any indication of believing that she was in danger around him. It would be refreshing if it wasn’t such baffling behaviour. “But I’m sure I could be convinced to reconsider with you.”

“Seducing mortal girls? Really, Loki? Have you fallen so low?”

His forehead crumpling in confusion, he asked outright, “Who are you?”

“You saw my shadow. You know.”

Loki frowned, splaying his hand on the small window to his cell. This was impossible. It couldn’t be. And yet, he knew, somehow, it was. “Y/N?”

The lights flickered more violently now, small sparks flying from the overhanging bulbs. The mortal form before him began to fracture. The veins beneath your skin began to shimmer, spreading across your body like a web of darkness. A pained cry fell from your lips as your skin stretched beyond its limits, tearing open over as tangible shadows spilled from the wounds.

A rush of cold air shot down the hallway, knocking out the lights completely and descending the prison level into darkness. However, despite the lack of light, Loki could see more clearly than ever. Your familiar form solidified outside his cell and you stared down at him pityingly.

His mind racing, sifting through information at such an incredible rate that he could hardly follow his own train of thought, Loki slowly turned away from the window of his cell to take a position against the furthest wall. While he refused to draw his knees to his chest and curl up in fear, horror, disgust over what he had just witnessed it was clear to you both that those were his feelings.

A blinding purple and red flash filled the cell as you jumped through the shadows, pulling yourself into the otherwise impenetrable room. (At least that’s what the Avengers seemed to believe; if not for your orders to stay put, Loki was sure he could have broken out of this box a hundred times over by now). The shadows continued to ripple as you pulled yourself back into existence, wisely choosing to keep a distance between you.

“Where would you like me to start?” You asked, taking a seat on the ground opposite him.

“The beginning is always a good place,” Loki said stiffly. Shifting slightly, never taking his eyes off you, Loki made himself as comfortable as he could on the hard floor. This was going to take a while.


End file.
